


All Fun and Games

by AlexMac725



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22142275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexMac725/pseuds/AlexMac725
Summary: All Richie wanted to do was to be happy with his boyfriend, but Connor always loved to hide behind his homophobic cousin against Richie. Finally, after Richie called it off, he got invited to a party and decided to go to get his mind off of the awful relationship he just left.Inviting his best friend Bev, he meets up with Eddie who is a lightweight flirt when drunk. Richie wasn't expecting that out of the sweet nervous boy in his classes, but he's not going to complain as long as Eddie keeps looking at him like that.Takes place in modern time during a house party. All characters are 18.Trigger warning: homophobic slurs, violence, descriptions of injuries
Relationships: Connor Bowers/Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 8
Kudos: 100





	1. First is Fun

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this for my OCs. I hope you like this little story while I get back to work, school, and fight writer's block.

Being one of only a handful of openly gay guys in Derry was awful for Richie. He could deal with the assholes that hated him, but the fact that he couldn't hang out with his boyfriend because of his homophobic family was torture for both of them. 

Richie did his best when acting around the Bowers gang, but they all knew that he was gay and they probably suspected that he was interested in Connor. They had no idea that the two of them had been going out for a few months secretly and Richie hated it. He wanted to be able to hold his boyfriend's hand when they were on dates and he wanted to be able to tease him without worrying that his cousin would beat him to a pulp.

They weren't happy together and both of them knew it, but Richie was still invited to Greta's party thanks to Connor. She had no idea that the two of them weren't doing well so she invited him. Little did she know, but he turned right around and invited his best friend Beverly Marsh who only agreed if her gang could crash. He thought it would be hilarious to see the losers of the school crash one of the biggest parties of the year, so he quickly agreed. He even laughed to Connor about it who immediately rolled his eyes and started flipping shit.

"I can't believe you invited the freaks of the school to-"

"Woah. They're not freaks. Bev is my best friend. They're actually really nice-"

"I don't care! She's going to bring her freaky friends and ruin the one night that we can relax."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Connor never answered. He just went on a rant about how Richie did things without thinking them over and Richie finally had enough. He stood up from Connor's bed and stormed out.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going."

"Fuck you! We're done. I'm sick of this shit. Have a nice life being a dickwad Connor. I'm done." He got in his truck and left, not looking back.

Connor texted him later asking if he was serious and he just responded "Yes. I broke up with you. I'm blocking you now. Bye."

He didn't actually block him, but he didn't need to. The messages stopped coming after one day and Richie couldn't believe how free he finally felt. It seemed that a weight was lifted off of his chest. He didn't have to worry that Connor would be beaten to a pulp if they flirted. Even still, he was excited about Greta's party. He knew that there was no way Connor was going to go meaning that the Bowers gang might not even show up. It was perfect for the losers to take over.

The night of the party he got into black ripped skinny jeans, an old band shirt, and grabbed a jean jacket that Connor despised before leaving in his truck to Greta's house. He didn't bother to mess with his hair or put on contacts, so he thought he looked fine. Not great, but fine.

Bev messaged him just as he reached the overflowing house and she said that she would be there. She also said that Eddie Kaspbrack was already there and he would probably need a familiar face so that he didn't have a panic attack in the house of assholes. Richie didn't mind going through the house to hunt for the small asthmatic. He actually liked hanging out with Eddie in the classes that they had together. He always seemed to roll his eyes good naturally and shoot back anything that Richie said with a brilliant fire in his eyes. It was extremely cute to see him huff his breath anytime Richie called him Eds or Spaghetti, so Richie called him nicknames every day to watch his reaction.

It didn't take long to find Eddie hiding in the kitchen behind a cup and not talking to anyone. He was wearing an adorable light pink sweater that seemed a size too big for him, but also looked like it was supposed to be that way. It fell off of his shoulder showing his collarbone and Richie had to catch himself staring before Eddie saw him and forced him to pick his jaw off of the ground. 

"Hey, Eds. You look adorable as always."

"Richie!" His eyes lit up as Richie got closer. Then, he seemed to catch himself and lean back against the counter as if he didn't just explode with happiness as he saw him. "Don't call me that. I'm not adorable." 

Richie pinched his cheeks earning a huff from Eddie. "I disagree, but you can think whatever you want."

Eddie started sipping on his drink and it only took a few minutes for Richie to realize that, not only was Eddie a lightweight, but he was drinking extremely strong mixed drinks courtesy of their host, Greta. She kept offering him more, but he refused, saying that he wasn't done yet.

"I'm going to go dance," Eddie slurred and grabbed Richie's hand. "Come dance with me. Pretty please?"

"Hey, guys!" Bev had to shout over the sound of the music for either of them to hear her and Eddie let out a frustrated sigh.

"I was just gonna go dance and now Bev is here."

"You can still dance, Eds."

"No, no. That's rude."

"Eddie? Have you been drinking?"Bev asked and he nodded. "Shit."

Richie laughed and pinched Eddie's cheeks. "What's wrong? It's fun."

"No, no. It's fine," she said waving him off. "It's just that Eddie and alcohol don't mix very well. He's unfiltered when he's drunk and who knows what he'll say around you."

"What do you mean?"

"Richie!" Eddie whined. "I changed my mind. Let's go dance." He didn't wait for Richie's response and pulled him through the kitchen and into the dining room where the make-shift dance floor was. 

The speakers were blasting some fastpaced crappy beats, but Eddie ignored them as he swayed with his eyes glued shut. Every once in a while, he would lift his arms exposing his stomach and Richie had to bite his lip to stop himself from grabbing his hips. After a few songs, Eddie grabbed Richie around the neck and brought them nose to nose even though his eyes were still glued shut. The people around them kept bumping into the pair, but they never broke apart until Eddie finally looked around and found Bev sitting in the living room. 

"You want to go sit with her?" Richie had to shout over the music to get Eddie's attention, but it was worth it when his doe eyes found Richie's.

"God, you're hot."

"What?"

"I said you're hot!" he screamed, then pulled Richie's hand. "Let's go sit with Bev. My feet hurt."

Richie didn't need to say anything to follow after him and he was grateful for the time to reboot his brain. Eddie said that he was hot and Bev said that he didn't have a filter once he was drunk. Interesting.

Eddie pulled him to a couch, pulled him down, then immediately sat on his lap with no warning. He didn't mind though, so Richie put his arms around Eddie's middle and nuzzled into his neck. He smelled like laundry detergent and vanilla soap and Richie was quickly finding it to be one of his favorite mixtures ever. The vanilla messed with his head in some kind of way that made the rest of the world fall away and made him focus on the boy in his lap with his sweater still falling off of his damn shoulder.

"Y-you guys look like a couple." Big Bill from astronomy said as he sat across from them and next to someone Richie didn't recognize.

"Shut up, Bill. You're the one who was to busy making out with Stan to show up on time," Eddie said and both Bill and the guy next to him turned to each other with their faces reddening. Bev snorted and sat next to Richie on the couch.

"I'm really liking drunk Eddie," he said and she rolled her eyes.

"Of course you do. He's literally in your lap right now."

"Damn right."

Richie watched as Eddie smirked and spun around on his lap so that they were chest to chest and his head was hidden in the crook of Richie's neck. His hand found their way around Eddie's waist as his snaked around Richie's neck to play with the hair on the back of his neck. Richie couldn't help himself and he felt Eddie's breath catch when he traced a line down Eddie's neck with his lips.

"Hey Richie?" he whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Is it true you're dating Connor Bowers?" Richie's heart fell for a second, then Eddie leaned back to meet his eyes and he nearly forgot his own name.

"No." Eddie smiled and took his place nuzzling into Richie's neck.

"Good. Cause if he saw us he would be pissed." Richie laughed and Eddie jumped from the noise.

"Sorry," he whispered and felt something warm against his neck. "Eds? Did you just-"

"I said you were hot. What do you expect?"

"Sorry, Richie," Bev said laughing into her own cup. "I did warn you. He has no filter."

"I am not complaining," he laughed and Eddie kissed his neck again, making his heart pound out of his chest.

Richie kept talking to Bev as if his lap weren't occupied by an adorable boy crying for his attention. He tried to ignore the kisses against his neck because he knew they were coming from a drunk Eddie that would never remember climbing onto his lap, let alone his warm lips attacking Richie's neck.

"Who else did you invite, Bev?"

"Eddie, Bill, Stan, I invited Ben and our friend Mike who's homeschooled too, but neither of them wanted to come. I had to bribe Eddie and Bill and Stan are probably just going to bail in a bit anyway. They're not a big group of partiers."

Bill and Stan seemed to be in their own world as they talked on the other couch, practically speaking into each other's mouths. Bev looked over to them and rolled her eyes, then back at Richie.

"I told him that you would be here." 

"What?"

"That's how I bribed Eddie. I just said that you would be here." Eddie hummed and Richie smirked at him.

"Is that true, Eds?"

"You're hot and I've liked you for two years." He agreed and Richie laughed, but he continued. "Of course I'm going to hunt you down at a fucking party. It's not like I could talk to you while I was sober."

"You talk to me just fine while you're sober."

"Yeah, but it's easier to say things like 'you're hot' and 'I wanna make out with you' while you have alcohol." Bev snickered and left without another word, leaving Richie to deal with his pounding heart alone.

"You want to make out with me?"

"Was that not established?" He kissed Richie's neck again as his breath caught.

"Not explicitly."

Eddie leaned back and grabbed Richie's cheeks to stare into his eyes.

"Richard Tozier." His last name was a little slurred, but he looked past it. "I have wanted to make out with you every single day since I met you." Richie froze for a moment thinking over the words the boy in his lap just said, but Eddie didn't mind. He immediately got distracted by playing with the hair he captured in his fingers. "You have such pretty hair and pretty eyes. Damn. Why are you so cute?"

"I think you need to get a mirror, Spaghetti. You're the cute one. Have you seen yourself in this sweater? It's criminal."

"I wore it cause I thought you would like it," he admitted and Richie smiled.

"You were right. I love it." 

Stealing some of Eddie's courage, Richie pulled him back against his chest and pressed his nose against Eddie's exposed collar bone breathing in the scent of vanilla that still overpowered his brain. He listened to Eddie's breathing over the sound of the party and found that anytime he breathed on a tiny part of skin connecting Eddie's collar and neck he would either shiver or his breath would catch. Interesting.

"So, Eds. How long have you liked me again?" His voice was mumbled against Eddie's skin, but he ignored it and continued to explore the skin poking out of the sweater.

"Huh? Oh, two years." Eddie's voice was breathless and Richie smirked.

"You never told me that you liked me."

"Yeah, no shit. I didn't think you liked me, so I-" Richie nipped at his neck. "Oh my god."

"What?"

"Did you just bite me?" Richie smiled and nipped at the same spot where Eddie's breath caught and was not expecting the reaction he got. 

The hands playing with his hair tightened their grip. Not tight enough to hurt, but enough to notice. Still, Richie was distracted by the noise Eddie made. He could barely hear it over the pounding music still playing in the other room, but it still sent fire through his whole body.

"If you keep making sounds like that I'll keep biting you. Promise." He couldn't see Eddie's reaction from his position against his neck, but he assumed that he rolled his eyes.

"Hey, Richie? Can I tell you something?"

His voice suddenly sounded serious and Richie pulled away to meet Eddie's eyes again, but he refused to look up. 

"Are you okay?" Maybe he crossed a line with the biting.

Suddenly, Eddie looked up, probably guessing at Richie's train of thought and shaking his head. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I just- I- Do you really like me or are you just dealing with me while I'm drunk?"

Richie smiled and kissed his cheek. 

"I really like you. I think I have for a while." Eddie let out a breath and smiled.

"Good. I have a secret to tell you then."

"Okay?"

"I'm not drunk. I was drinking water."


	2. Then We Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Why did you antagonize him like that?" Eddie didn't want to say Connor's name, thinking it would shatter their little bubble and invite the asshole to hunt them down.
> 
> Richie ignored the question and said, "You said that you liked me for two years."
> 
> Eddie's heart caught in his throat. "Yeah?"
> 
> "You called me hot, said you liked me for two years, and said you've wanted to make out with me every day since we met."
> 
> "Wow. Way to list them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't mean for this to become 6,000 words, but here we are. Hope you enjoy.  
> Reminder: This chapter contains homophobic slurs, violence, and descriptions of injury.

Eddie had to do something. He was fucking desperate, okay?

Pining after the same guy for two years isn't exactly the most healthy thing in the world. Especially when said boy is so out of his league that he wouldn't even look twice at him. The only hope he had was Bev's invitation to Greta's party. He didn't tell anyone about his little plan to act drunk and prayed that it was convincing enough, or he was embarrassing enough for everyone to leave him alone and not question it.

The problem, of course, was that Richie wasn't telling him to get off his lap or that he didn't want Eddie to come near him. That was part of the plan too. He wanted Richie to shove him away or call him a freak, but he hasn't. He was flirting with him! Richie Tozier was flirting with Eddie Kaspbrack and it made him feel like horse shit.

"I'm sorry. I-" A body fell on top of them, spilling some foul-smelling drink over both of them. Eddie instantly felt his body react and he nearly fell off of Richie's lap before strong arms grabbed him around the waist and pulled him back against his chest.

"You okay?" Eddie's nose was against Richie's neck and he nodded. "Let's go get you cleaned up."

"What the fuck, Richie?" He heard Richie sigh and Eddie pulled away to look up into the face of an extremely pissed Connor Bowers

"Richie?" Eddie whispered and he felt the hand resting on his hip tighten.

"He won't hurt you. He's just a prick," he whispered back and Eddie nodded. Richie would protect him. There was nothing to worry about. He still got off of Richie's lap and took a spot next to him on the couch. Richie was probably making a point when he grabbed Eddie's hand with one of his own and fixed his hair with the other.

"Did you hear me, faggot? What the fuck were you doing with this freak on your lap?" Connor's voice rang through the crowd, drawing the eyes of the dancers. "Jesus. You stop hanging out with us for a week or two and you suddenly-"

"Shut the fuck up, Connor," he screamed and stood up, dropping Eddie's hand that was hit with the cool air around them. "You and I both know that I have secrets you wouldn't want to get out. Leave me the fuck alone or else."

"Are you threatening me?" 

Richie smirked and shrugged, falling into one of his ridiculous voices. "Hate to do it doll, but you leave me no choice."

Before Eddie could blink, Connor had Richie by the collar and was dragging him through the house and out to the front yard. He followed behind, hoping to get to Richie before he was ground into a pulp, but the moment he stepped outside he realized why Connor didn't just punch him in the house.

The whole Bowers gang was waiting outside and they all had the same venomous smirk on their face when they spotted Richie getting pushed down the handful of stairs to lay at their feet. Eddie tried to run down to him, but the crowd behind him rushed outside to swarm the yard and block off any chance of him getting to Richie.

"Richie!" he screamed over the crowd. "Richie!"

"Finally you little fag. I've been waiting to kick your ass for months."

Those words were enough to turn Eddie's blood cold and force him to push through the crowd, elbowing anyone that was in front of him until he finally saw Bowers land a punch against Richie's cheek, beating him down so that his friends could kick him. They didn't stop as Eddie screamed or as Richie's glasses flew off of his face only a foot out of Eddie's reach or as Connor circled the gang with a sick smile plaster spread across his face. They only stopped when Greta pulled Henry off of Richie and threatened to call the cops on him and his buddies.

The moment they let Richie go, with one last kick from Connor for good measure, the crowd fled back inside or disappeared down the street to avoid the fight that just happened. Eddie prayed that Richie was still conscious as he grabbed his glasses and rushed to his side.

Blood coated his face as Richie pushed the crooked lenses back onto his nose and smiled up at Eddie who was fighting the tears in his eyes. 

"Hey, Eds. You okay?" Eddie couldn't help the laugh that escaped.

"Shut the fuck up. Don't call me Eds." He pulled Richie into a hug, being careful of his newly forming bruises. "Can you stand?"

Richie groaned and nodded, so Eddie pulled him up as carefully as he could and supported most of his weight as they walked back into the house that was pretending to ignore the pair of them. They both could feel the eyes on them as they made their way up the stairs with Richie wincing at every step. 

Eddie would never say this, but he was grateful that he was shorter than Richie so that it was easier for both of them to walk through the house. With Richie's arm across his shoulder and most of his weight being held by Eddie, he hoped and prayed that this would never happen again.

Finally making it upstairs, Eddie opened the door to the bathroom and shooed away a couple that was making out. They didn't say anything after getting a good look at Richie's swollen cheeks and quickly ran out of the room, leaving Richie to sit on the tub and Eddie lock the door and search through the cabinets for a first aid kit. Luckily, he found one under the sink and dug through it to find everything he needed to help Richie.

Eddie washed his hands, wet a rag, and turned back to the tub. He kneeled so that he was face to face with Richie and sitting between his knees. Neither of them minded the proximity, so they didn't say anything about it. Then, he started by taking off Richie's glasses and using the rag to gently wipe away the blood staining his cheeks.

Luckily, the cuts were shallow and the bleeding stopped quickly, but his nose and lips were still glistening red. After a minute of holding the rag against his lips, the blood seemed to stop, so he started cleaning the smaller cuts with the hydrogen peroxide. 

Richie winced at the first touch, then simply stared at Eddie who continued to ignore his gaze as he worked. He put small bandages across Richie's face and inspected his nose to make sure it wasn't broken. 

He was extremely lucky that the worst that could be seen was a yellow bruise that was quickly turning black just under his left eye. Aside from that, he looked to be okay, then Eddie remembered that he was on the ground and Bowers was kicking him. Most of the damage was probably on his stomach.

"Are you okay?" Richie whispered again and Eddie finally met his eyes.

"I'm not the one who got the shit kicked out of him." Richie shrugged and put his glasses back on, making his eyes double in size.

"It was gonna happen sooner or later. I'm sorry you got dragged into it. I never thought Connor was going to show up." Eddie looked down at his hands that were resting on Richie's legs. He was still holding a bandaid in one hand and the blood-soaked rag in the other.

"You guys-" The words failed to cross his tongue, but Richie nodded.

"I pissed him off. It ended badly on both sides." Eddie nodded and sighed, trying to pull away but he was stuck. His body wouldn't move any farther from Richie even if he wanted it to. 

"Okay, well I don't want to be a rebound or anything. I told you-"

"You're not a rebound." Richie's voice was so sincere that it forced Eddie to look up. "If anything, Connor was the rebound. You see, I had a small crush on this little kid in my class years ago. I never thought he would like me and Connor found out about my crush. He tricked me into liking him to get over my crush, but neither of us really liked each other hence the bad ending."

"He wanted to beat the shit out of you cause you broke up with him?" Richie nodded and Eddie scoffed. "That's not the best way to hide your sexuality. He had to tell Bowers something to get him to hate you too."

"They didn't need a reason. It's Bowers."

"Oh yeah. He's just naturally a bigoted asshole." Richie laughed and tried to hide his wince, but Eddie caught it just in time to see how scared he really had been during the fight.

"Richie, I need you to take off your shirt." That earned Eddie another chuckle and wince.

"Well, you could have just asked."

"Not like that, you asshole. I want to make sure you're okay."

Richie took another breath, obviously going to say something, but pain washed over his face for a moment and he had to bite on his lip to stop himself from making noise. Eddie hated seeing him like this, so he scooted closer and rested his head on Richie's shoulder to offer as much comfort as he could without hurting him.

"Okay," he breathed, and Eddie took that as an okay to help him take off the band shirt that smelled distinctly of Richie. It took a minute of carefully lifting his arms and pulling them out of the sleeves then over his head, but they got the fabric off of him and Eddie sucked in a breath as he looked at Richie's chest.

Just as he thought, most of his skin was dotted with bruises that were a rainbow of colors from an angry red to a deep purple. Eddie couldn't help but touch the biggest red mark that rested right above his belly button. It would be a bitch to heal and would not be pretty, but he couldn't think of a time where Richie didn't look pretty so it should even out.

"You can breathe fine? No sharp pain?"

"No. Just when I move or laugh too hard."

"Good. That means you don't have a broken rib." He got off of the floor and rinsed the cloth off as much as he could in the sink. He watched Richie's bloody water flow down the drain, and for the millionth time prayed that he never had to see it again.

"I need to slow the swelling," he said, running the cold water over the cloth. "Can you lay down on the floor? Use the mat to put under you."

"Yes sir, Dr. K." Eddie rolled his eyes and watched in the mirror as Richie slowly got down from the tub, careful of his bruises and laid down exactly as he said, staring up at the ceiling. Then, Eddie got down next to him and knelt next to his chest trying his best not to stare.

"This isn't going to hurt, but it's going to suck." He laid the cloth on Richie's chest and watched him jump.

"Jesus, Eds. That's cold!"

"I warned you."

"Not about the cold!" Eddie snickered and grabbed Richie's hand, effectively shutting him up for a moment.

"I'll only leave it on for a few minutes. Then we'll dry you off and get you home. Sound good?"

Richie nodded and Eddie smiled. They sat in silence for a moment with the only sounds coming from downstairs. The music was still blaring and the voices of their peers carried drunken laughter through the house making both of them roll their eyes. 

Teenagers are so irresponsible.

"So," Richie started again, drawing Eddie's eyes. "You pretended to be drunk?"

Eddie groaned and tried to hide his face in his hands without letting go of Richie's. "If I knew you were going to bring that up I wouldn't have patched you up."

Both of them knew it was a lie, but Richie smiled all the same.

"That's cruel, Eds. I was just curious as to why you would act drunk. Wouldn't it be easier if you just got drunk?"

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't remember it. Bev told you I was a lightweight and she's not wrong."

"But you're not enough of a lightweight to get hammered off of water." Eddie rolled his eyes and nearly punched Richie's arm before remembering his bruises. Instead, he stayed quiet and rubbed circles into Richie's palm. "You wanted to remember? Remember what?"

"Dancing with you." Richie scoffed.

"Just dancing?"

"I never thought- I-" Eddie caught his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't angry or upset. He was being honest when he said he was just curious. "I thought I would scare you off if I danced with you, so I pretended to be drunk to give myself an excuse. Then you didn't run away and I thought it would be- nice to pretend. The problem was that Bev was there and if she heard me lying while I was drunk she would instantly realize I wasn't and call me out on it. That's when I started feeling guilty for lying and hiding, especially since you were being so nice."

"Nice?"

"Dealing with me. You know what I mean." Richie shrugged.

"I was just thinking about when I bit you."

That memory flashed behind Eddie's eyes forcing a chill down his spine and Richie smirked at his reaction. "That was- less nice."

Richie only hummed in response. Eddie ignored him and lifted the rag to check his bruises. The bright red marks were slowly growing darker, but they weren't swelling yet which was a good sign. Eddie grazed his hand across Richie's stomach and sighed.

"This is going to be a bitch to heal."

"Yeah," he said with his voice shaking a bit. 

"Why did you antagonize him like that?" Eddie didn't want to say Connor's name, thinking it would shatter their little bubble and invite the asshole to hunt them down.

Richie ignored the question and said, "You said that you liked me for two years."

Eddie's heart caught in his throat. "Yeah?"

"You called me hot, said you liked me for two years, and said you've wanted to make out with me every day since we met."

"Wow. Way to list them."

Richie grunted and slowly sat up, letting the cloth fall off of his chest and onto his lap. Eddie nearly pushed him back down before meeting his eyes and freezing.

"Don't change the subject. Why did you say that if you weren't drunk?"

Eddie swallowed the rock in his throat and looked down at their intertwined hands.

"I told you. If Bev heard me lying-"

"So they're true."

His stomach sank and he couldn't bring himself to look up at Richie. "I- I-" Eddie snickered. "I really dug my own grave, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you really did." A beat passed. "So?"

"Yes," he breathed.

"Yes?"

"Yes, they're true."

For a second, the only thing either of them could hear was the blood pounding in their ears. Then, Richie started laughing. 

He grabbed at his stomach, clearly pained by the bruises, but either not caring or laughing too hard to stop he kept howling. Eddie could swear that he was crying from laughing so hard, but it might have been the pain or Eddie trying to hold back his own tears. When he finally calmed down, Richie put his thumb under Eddie's chin and brought his head up away from the floor.

"I'm sorry, Eds. I don't mean to laugh. You're just too damn cute."

"I am not." He tried not to pout, but he apparently failed as Richie let out another laugh.

"You pretended to be drunk so that you could sit on my lap and kiss my neck without me judging you. Then, when your plan worked too well because I like you too, you freaked out and started guilt-tripping yourself. You're the most adorable person in the world."

"I didn't pretend to be drunk to sit on your lap," he huffed.

"Yes, you did."

"No. I just-"

"Wanted to tell me I'm hot?"

"Yes! No!" Eddie groaned into his hand. "I'm digging myself another hole."

He only laughed again and grabbed at his stomach wincing. Eddie grabbed the cloth off of Richie's lap and gently pressed it against the bruise above his belly button, but he didn't seem to pay any mind to the pain as he cupped Eddie's cheek.

Time seemed to slow as Richie pulled Eddie to him and kissed him. It only lasted a few seconds before Eddie pulled away and smiled, fighting the urge to climb back onto Richie's lap, capture his lips and never let them go. The only thing stopping him was the pain Richie was clearly hiding and the bright red marks that seemed to be screaming at the both of them.

"I'm going to help you get home," Eddie said, not moving an inch away from the still grinning boy across from him.

"Geez, Eds, one kiss and you're already taking me home? Aren't we going a little fast?"

"First of all, I've pined after you for two years, so no. And secondly, fuck off." He lovingly smacked Richie's shoulder, one of the few places not marked and both laughed quietly.

"I drove," Richie said and Eddie shrugged.

"I can drive."

"You want to drive my truck?"

"It's better than walking, right? Plus you were drinking."

"No, I wasn't. I didn't have one drink all night. And have you ever driven a truck?"

"No." Richie nodded and pinched Eddie's cheek.

"That's what I thought. I'm driving." Eddie opened his mouth, but Richie cut him off. "No offense to you Eds, but I just got my baby fixed and I don't have the cash to burn when you take out a mailbox and scratch the paint."

Eddie rolled his eyes and sighed. "Stubborn prick."

He shrugged again and leaned forward to kiss Eddie's cheek. "You're the one who likes me."

"Don't ask me why."

Together, they got Richie up off of the bathroom floor and put his shirt back on. Eddie stole some more supplies from the first aid kit just in case they needed it and he couldn't help but smile when Richie still slung his arm across his shoulders without putting any of his weight on him. They looked like a lovestruck couple as they left the mostly empty house toward Richie's truck that waited on the corner. 

Eddie helped him into the driver's seat even though Richie insisted he was fine, then he crossed to the passenger side and silently thanked God that he didn't have to drive the monstrous vehicle to Richie's house. It would be hard enough to explain why he knew where Richie lives, but it would be even worse if he had to admit that his mom didn't take him to get his driver's license yet.

Richie was already blasting rock music as Eddie buckled up, then the two of them were off. 

A yawn caught them both off guard in the middle of the drive and Eddie looked at the dashboard to find that it was almost three am. His mom was going to murder him when he got home, but he couldn't bring himself to care as Richie offered him his palm and locked their hands together in a silent promise.

"Where am I dropping you off?" Richie asked, lowering the radio volume a bit.

"I-" Eddie chuckled. "Honestly, I don't want to go home."

Richie smiled at him and nodded. "To the Tozier Residence it is."

The radio was turned back up and Eddie looked out the window as the neighborhood changed from the country to the small town with the same copy and pasted lawn. Within minutes, they were pulling into Richie's driveway, getting out of the truck, and walking inside. 

Eddie thought he would be more hesitant about sneaking into Richie's house, but after Richie grabbed his hand and led him through the door he couldn't find a reason to worry. 

His parents were already in bed, so neither of them made a sound as they made their way to Richie's room which looked exactly how Eddie imagined it would look. There were posters of bands Eddie had never heard of before covering the walls and it was a mess with clothes covering nearly every surface.

Richie started to throw everything into a basket that sat in the corner as Eddie giggled to himself.

"Sorry. I didn't expect to have company."

"It's alright. I didn't think of you as the tidy room type."

Richie cleared off his bed and Eddie sat on the corner, not testing his luck anymore. He was too tired and worn out to start flirting or even stand at this point, so he just sat and watched. Then, he suddenly remembered Richie's stomach and convinced him to stop cleaning.

He finally listened to Eddie and sat next to him on the bed, whispering "I know you don't like mess."

"I don't care, Rich."

"Oh, okay. Sorry. I just thought-"

"It's sweet. Thank you." They sat in silence for a moment and Eddie could feel his eyelids growing heavier by the second. "Richie?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I have clothes to wear to bed?"

"Oh, right!" He jumped to his feet and Eddie caught him wincing at the movement.

"Are you okay?" 

"Fine," he said, walking to his dresser and throwing Eddie shorts and a well-loved band t-shirt that he could barely make the name out on. "I'll go change in the bathroom."

Without another word, Richie left, carrying some clothes with him and leaving Eddie alone in his room. He couldn't help but roll his eyes before slipping the clothes on. Then he waited for Richie to come back.

Minutes passed and Eddie could barely open his eyes, so he hoped that Richie wouldn't mind as he laid down on top of the blankets and against the headboard. He was desperate to stay awake, but his body had other plans and refused to move anymore.

It was only another minute before Richie snuck back into the room. Eddie saw him chuckle to himself, then he came to the side of the bed and helped Eddie under the blankets. They engulfed him in warmth and smelled distinctly of Richie, making his eyes droop further.

"Goodnight, Eds," Richie whispered, then stood up.

"Wait," Eddie tried to sit up, but his body still wasn't responding right. "Sleep."

"Yeah. Sleep," Richie chuckled.

"No. You sleep here."

"You already look comfortable. I'll sleep on the couch."

Eddie groaned and grabbed Richie's hand. "You really think I'm going to let you sleep on the couch? Fuck that. You're sleeping with me."

"So forward, Eds." Richie laughed, "At least buy me dinner first."

"I will eventually, but now I want to cuddle. Here. Now." 

In the morning, Eddie would be mortified about the things he said and wish that his tired brain would have just shut up. Then, Morning Eddie would remember Richie's face as he climbed into bed without another word and pulled Eddie into his chest whispering promises that he wasn't hurting him. He would remember feeling Richie's hands through his hair and his warm breath against his forehead as both of them slowly fell asleep with their arms tangled. 

Then, Morning Eddie would get the fuck over it and smile as Richie kissed him, still half asleep and wearing a matching grin.

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any suggestions for new stories or fandoms that I can write about, please let me know. I love reading comments. It's my favorite part of being a writer.


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